Why women?

Almost five times as many men hold elected office in the United States then women. The United States currently ranks 95th in the world in the number of women serving in their national legislatures. We are behind Mexico, China and Pakistan.

25% of the Wisconsin State Legislature are women

Of the 1,455 City Council Seats in Wisconsin, only 322 are held by women

Of the 1,680 County Board seats in Wisconsin, only 308 are held by women

Of the 2827 School Board seats, 1,069 are held by women

74% of Town Boards and 24% of Village Boards have no womenStatistics provided by the Wisconsin Women's Council

But perhaps even more significant than gender parity, women have a different understanding on needs in policy areas such as healthcare, transportation, education and jobs. Women in elected office bring new perspectives to issues, which increases the likelihood of conceiving and implementing effective and just solutions to social, economic, and environmental problems. After all, women represent over half of the world’s skills, knowledge, and talents.

The only systematic, nationwide empirical account of the manner in which gender affects political ambition, Dr. Lawless’ research shows:

Women, even in the highest tiers of professional accomplishment, are substantially less likely than men to demonstrate ambition to seek elective office.

Women are less likely than men to be recruited to run for office and are less likely than men to think they are qualified to run for office.

Women are less likely than men to express a willingness to run for office in the future.

This gender gap in political ambition persists across generations and over time.

Despite cultural evolution and society's changing attitudes toward women in politics, running for public office remains a much less attractive and feasible endeavor for women than for men.

Even with the emergence over the past ten years of high-profile women in politics, the gap between women and men's interest in running for office is the same today as it was a decade ago.

Emerge Wisconsin is working with the entire Emerge network to actively tackle the monumental problems exhibited by the under-representation of women. You don’t have to look any further than the headlines to see that we need more women at the decision making table. Not only does this under-representation present a contradiction to the principles of democracy, but women in elected office continue to demonstrate their ability to find effective solutions to the multitude of problems currently facing our country.

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